Michigan

Man acquitted of putting toddler in hot clothes dryer

(Source: https://goo.gl/Nd9gFp License: https://goo.gl/sZ7V7x)

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A man accused of putting a child in a dryer has been acquitted after the defense argued that the boy’s mother did it while sleepwalking.

Dustin Holdaway was acquitted Thursday in a Grand Traverse County court. Assistant prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg was surprised that jurors deliberated less than 90 minutes.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports that two previous trials ended in mistrials.

Moeggenberg argued that Holdaway put his girlfriend’s toddler in a dryer and turned it on earlier this year. But defense attorney Stephen Kane told the jury that the boy’s mother did it “in her sleep.”

Moeggenberg says the boy is no longer with his mother. She says he’s fascinated by dryers, a sign of post-traumatic stress.

Related posts

Pedestrian killed on I-94 near Watervliet

Jon Zimney

Apparent tragic end to the search for missing South Bend women

Jon Zimney

Benton Harbor man, 18, hurt in motorcycle crash in Cass County

Jon Zimney